Islamic Unity

News & Articles - Wednesday, December 2nd 2009

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

In the name of Allah the most Gracious the most Merciful

In the past century the Islamic Ummat has gone through many trials one example would be the fall of the great Ottoman Empire and its division to many small countries. More examples could be seen in Algeria, Kosovo, Somalia, Bosnia, Kashmir, Gujarat, Afghanistan and Lebanon where the Islamic Ummat faced many difficulties such as massacres, genocides and assassinations. One would ask why Muslims are going through all these trials. Why can’t a billion strong force of Muslims defend themselves?

Clearly there is only one major answer and that is the lack of Islamic Unity, which is exactly what the enemies of Islam have been working for and unfortunately have achieved. Regrettable is that we ourselves are doing the enemy a favour by increasing these divisions. These days when Muslims approach one another, one of the first questions they ask is “Are you Sunni or Shia?” which is very disgraceful. Also the Muslims seem to know all differences between Sunni’s and Shia’s, but yet fail in their knowledge of Islamic core beliefs such as importance of Salaat, Quran, Hijab and etc…. We forget all Islamic code of conducts by calling each other names such as Mushriks, Ahleh Bidah or insult specific beliefs of our opposition and justify the use of foul language. Most shocking in prayer rooms we stand separate from one another in prayer, even though our intention is to worship the same lord. There is no sense of brotherhood or sisterhood among us instead we have filled our hearts with anger, frustration and envy of one another.

But why do we have to give life to this Sunni/Shia division as it should not exist at all when our principles such as worshipping one lord “Allah”, following one holy book “Quran”, believing in one last messenger “Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)” and the direction which we face during prayer “Kaaba”, are all the same. Our similarities are so much greater than our minor differences but yet we give weight to these differences and over exaggerate them. In Christianity and Judaism you do not see division to this extent even though the differences between the sects in these religions are based on the principles.

I call you to Islamic Unity for us to be united hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, in one line and under one banner which writes “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger”.

I must note that when I mention Islamic Unity I do not mean that all denominations should give in to one or that all commonalities should be taken up and different views and ideas be set aside, as these are neither rational and logical nor favourable and practical as this in itself would be a creation of a new religion, however the Islamic Unity I call upon refers to unite in one line against our common enemies also to unite in the political and economical field. Surely if we unite in these fields our progress will be unimaginable and we would be an unstoppable power which strives for the best of humanity and morality. Unity means that we as Muslims in a crisis, situation or attack our response and viewpoint should all be one.

The Holy Quran, the word of Allah demands us to move towards Islamic Unity which can be witnessed in the following verses:

Surah Al-Imran, verse 103:
And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah.s favour on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus doth Allah make His Signs clear to you: That ye may be guided.

Surah Al-Imran, verse 105:
Be not like those who are divided amongst themselves and fall into disputations after receiving Clear Signs: For them is a dreadful penalty,-

Surah Anfal, verse 46:
And obey Allah and His Messenger. and fall into no disputes, lest ye lose heart and your power depart; and be patient and persevering: For Allah is with those who patiently persevere:

Surah Al Anam, verse 159:
As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, thou hast no part in them in the least: their affair is with Allah. He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did.

Surah Al-Muminoon, verse 52:
And verily this Brotherhood of yours is a single Brotherhood, and I am your Lord and Cherisher: therefore fear Me (and no other).

One form of sentiment exists in all our bodies, and that is the spirit of Islam. For us to achieve this Islamic unity, we as muslims need to unite our hearts and spirits, this would be quite easy if we as individuals could just dedicate our spirit and heart for Allah by being strong in our faith(on time salaat). Our hearts being one is more valuable than us working together. Allah as mentioned in the Quran brings the heart of the believers together.

Surah Anfal, verse 63:
And (moreover) He hath put affection between their hearts: not if thou hadst spent all that is in the earth, couldst thou have produced that affection, but Allah hath done it: for He is Exalted in might, Wise.

With the many verses in the Quran calling us to Unity, with the many problems and suffering muslims are going through these days we still divide ourselves, create hatred amongst ourselves, make fake accusations against each other, stereotype, insult and mock one another beliefs. This appalling behaviour also exists among our debates and dialogues. We seem to forget the Islamic conduct and behaviour, which our beloved Prophet used to follow.
Brothers and sisters I am not asking you to avoid a religious discussion or any debates in our minor differences,  but what I ask for is for us to avoid any accusations, insults, ridiculing and also going beyond the borders of logic and reasoning just to prove that we are right. If you wish introduce your religious views do it in the way the Quran says in the following verse:

Surah An-Nahl, verse 125:
Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance.

Believe me this division amongst us is the agenda of the enemies of Islam, the same enemies that the blood of our muslim brothers and sisters are dripping from their sharp teeth. Our enemy is the slave of the devil, has no mercy and enjoys this division amongst us. The enemies have extensive inroads upon the Islamic community and have tried to resort to different ways and means to spread the old differences and create new ones. Please my brothers and sisters look around, open your eyes, concentrate and you will clearly witness the Islamaphobic environment created in the west and in some Muslim countries, by the enemies through their strong influences upon media and the political field.  The enemies are touching upon our traditional beliefs and creating new ideologies such as “Modern Islam”.  Also remember if you see a supposedly scholar spreading this division remember that Scholar is either ignorant or on the payroll from the enemies of Islam.

It must be included among our muslims we are seeing a very strong nationalistic approach, this nationalistic behaviour was created by the enemies of Islam to cause division among Muslims. All I have to say that is Nationalism would not help you in the hereafter however your ideology, path and faith would have in impact on your hereafter. Remember we are all one nation which aim is to please Allah.

But if we Muslims stand strong for the Islamic Unity cause the enemies wouldn’t be able to even think and dream about creating divisions amongst us.
My brothers and sisters I want you to always remember the painful lives our Muslim brothers, sisters and children’s are going through in Palestine and Iraq due to these divisions. They are slaughtering, murdering and torturing our fellow Muslims, while we go about our daily lives. Believe me on the Day of Judgment Allah will ask us individually what did you do for the Palestinian and Iraqi Muslims.

The Holy Prophet said:
“Whoever hears the call of a muslim and does not reply to him, in our logic he is not a muslim”

The Founder of the Islamic revolution Imam Khomeini said:
“Muslims should be awake, Muslims should be alert that if a dispute takes place among Sunni and Shia brothers, it is harmful to all of us, it is harmful to all Muslims. Those who want to sow discord are neither Sunni nor Shia, they are agents of the superpowers and work for them”

Therefore brothers and sisters to conclude I have to say that Islamic Unity is the cure, to the pains of the Islamic Ummat. May you all remember that whoever creates discords among Muslims is either ignorant or the handiwork of the enemies of Islam. Inshallah we should all remove the thin barriers between us and unite under the flag of Islam, remember we are all muslims and our goal and aim is to get closer to Allah and please him.  We Muslims should make our hearts and spirits one. Inshallah this Islamic Ummat of ours will rise with great power and intellect to serve humanity.

Surah Al-Araf, verse 23:
They said: “Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls: If thou forgive us not and bestow not upon us Thy Mercy, we shall certainly be lost.”

Presented by: Abdulkarim Ahmadi-Moghaddam

Email: noor_islamic_studies@live.co.uk
Facebook group name: NOOR ISLAMIC STUDIES
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May Allah bless and protect you all